What Makes a Good Home?

Did anyone out there read Omnivore’s Dilemma?  The author, Michael Pollan asked a simple question– “What should we eat?”–and then spent nearly 400 well-written, enlightening pages exploring the answer.  He even wrote a follow-up book called In Defense of Food.   Tuns out,  it was a simple question without a simple answer.

For several years we opened our Cascade Joinery seminars with this simple  question: “What makes a good home?”   We gave the folks in the audience an index card and asked them to write down what they thought.  It wasn’t a quiz.  Spelling and neatness didn’t count. We did make the cards the admission ticket to the coffee table,  however, so response was good.  During our morning break, we would read through the responses and share the most pertinent with the group when we reconvened.  The responses ranged from poetic (“I want a place that makes me say “Ahhh” when I get there”) to practical (“What my wife said…”).

The big thing our informal survey showed us is that there are many ways to talk about “good.”  One person might have a very technical view of what’s good: after all, you can control light switches from your i-phone.  Others spoke to the emotional effect a “good home” should have.  One respondent said a good home should provide “forced relaxation for me! (at the time we resisted suggesting that Valium is cheaper ).”   Many suggested that the way the home relates to it’s site is very important, and we agree.  If the building is at odds with it’s site, that is, if it doesn’t take advantage of natural light, view and the unique features of topography and vegetation, the building is bound to be a disappointment. Others expressed a desire for natural materials in the “good home”–music to the ears of designers and builders of timber frame homes.

There were many opinions, and, as you might expect, no one true answer, except perhaps “all of the above”  because it’s all important!

After what appears to be exhaustive research, Michael Pollan also came up with no one clear prescription either.  While being critical of the so-called Western diet which is characterized by consumption of refined grains and the assumption that we can reduce food into it’s various nutritional components, recombine those components and create products that are as healthy or healthier than “real food.”   He rejects the notion that the sole purpose of food is to promote health and proposes that cultures that perceive food having multiple purposes–pleasure, identity, and sociability primary among them–are actually healthier that are consumers of the so-called healthy re-created foods that are so widely promoted. The books are compelling, in our humble opinion, but you can read for yourself and decide.

But what if we thought about our houses as a “cuisine” that expresses not just our individual identity, but our cultural identity?  What would they say about us?  More importantly,  what would we like for them to say about us?  And how would we like these buildings to affect us?

The answers are well beyond the scope of this humble blog.   Sorry about that.  In fact the answers to the question may not be readily available, but instead will need to grow out of experience and time.   So stay tuned…

Green Products Are Easier To Find

Lots of strides have been made in the last couple of  decades in the area of green products. CFLs, healthier paints, and energy efficient appliances are now widely available. In fact, according to Building Green.org, Walmart is the largest seller of CFLs. Alex Wilson posted an interesting article that debunks the myth that green products are hard to find. Here are few highlights from his article, but you can check out the full article here.

• With paints, the changes have been at least as significant. No longer is “healthy” only the purview of small, specialty manufacturers. Many of the major paint manufacturers, including Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, PPG, and Glidden Professional, now offer paints with little or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Twenty years ago, natural linoleum and cork flooring–greener alternatives to vinyl (PVC) flooring–were only available from specialty suppliers and commercial flooring distributors in larger cities. Today, these are widely available from most flooring retailers.
• This might sound trivial, but until Panasonic introduced quiet, reliable bath fans about 20 years ago, the only models available were so noisy that homeowners almost never used them, leading to mold, decay, and other problems. Today, there are dozens of highly durable and very quiet bath fans on the market.

Natura Paint by Benjamin Moore

Best of Green 2010

Treehugger just posted their “Best of Green for 2010.” This is a contest where readers nominate their top picks in the world of green technology and innovation. This year they awarded winners in more than 200 categories, so check them out and see if any of your favorites made the list.

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